Music-leaf turner



Feb. 20, 1923; 1,446,333."

T. P. BRIODY.

MUSIC LEAF TURNER.

FILED NOV. 22, 1921.

him

Patented Feb. 20, 1923.

UNITED STATES THOMAS P. BRIODY, OF BETHLEHEM, PENNSYLVANIA.

MUSIC-LEAF TURNER.

Application filed November 22, 1921.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, Trioims P. Barony, a citizen of the l nited States. and a resident of Bethlehem, in the county of Northampton and State of Pennsylvania, have inventcd certain new and useful Improvements in Musiolieaf Turners, of which the following a specification.

My invention relates to leaf-turners and has for its object the provision of an inexpensive mechanism of novel construction, arrangement and operation by the use of which the leaves of a musical composition may he turned successively without interrupting the performance. Another object of the invention is to provide novel means for securing a book or a multiple-sheet composition in position upon a piano desk or a music stand. and another object of the in vention is to provide novel means for effect ing simultaneous return of all the sheets to the. initial position. The invention also provides means for supporting and turning the single sheet of a two-page composition, and also provides means whereby sheets or books of different heights may be accommodated upon the same desk or stand.

lo the annexed drawings, which illustrate one embodiment of my invention, Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a piano desk having my improved leaf-turner applied thereto with parts in section.

Fig. 2 is a rear elevation with parts in section.

is a transverse section on the line of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4: of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a view partl in elevation and partly in section, taken approximately in the same plane as Fig. 3 but looking in the opposite direction. I v

1* lgure 6 1s a view smnlar to Fig. 0. showing a sheet midway the limits of its turning movement.

Fig. 7 is a detail showing the arrangement for supporting and turning a single loose sheet.

In the drawings. the reference numeral 1 indicates a piano-desk which is preferably in the form of a casing adapted to house the working parts as will be readily understood upon reference. more particularly. to Figs. 2, 3 and t the back wall of the casing being omitted in Fig. 2. The desk is provided with the usual ledge or shelf 2 at 1ts bottom Serial No. 516,913.

upon which the sheet or book may rest, and it is provided in its front wall with openings or sockets 3 which are equidistant from its bottom. Til the top edge of the desk are sockets 4 arranged in vertical alinement with the respective sockets and normally receiving pins 5 carried by a rail 6. narily. the rail (3 serves as a cap to impart an attractive finish to thetop of the desk but if the pages of the composition to be played are of less height than the distance between the shelf or rest 2 and the turning arms, the rail 6 is removed from the top of the desk and. fitted to the front thereof by having its pins 5 engaged in the sockets The rail will then serve as a rest or support for the music, and it will be understood that a series of sockets 3 may be provided.

In the front wall of the desk, near the top and sides thereof. T provide openings or horizontal slots 7 and extending from end to end'of these slots are pins 8 which constitute fulcrums or pivots for clamping plates 9 which depend. from the respective pivots in front of the desk and are adapted to engage over the book covers or the outside sheets of the composition and clamp them to the desk. The clamping plates are extended within the desk beyond their respective pivots. as shown at 10. the extensions being connected by a coupling rod 11. A link 12 is connected to the rod ll and de pends therefrom to a point near the bottom of the desk where it-is pivoted to a lever l3 which is fulcruu'icd at the bottom of the desk and projects through a slot in the end wall thereof. A lea spring 15 is secured Within the desk above each extension or arm 10 and bears upon the extension to hold it against free movement but permit movement under the influence of the lever 13. A larger stronger leaf spring 16 is secured upon the front of the desk and bears upon the clamping plate 9 to hold it firmly against the desk or against the sheet or cover interposed between it and the desk.

Upon the front of the desk, near the top and centrally thereof. is a bracket 17 carrying a pin or stud 18 on which the inner ends of the carrying arms 19 are pivotally engaged. Upon each carrying arm, at the free end thereof. is a clasp or clip 20 which may be of any approved form and is adapted to engage the free upper corner of one sheet or leaf and secure thesame. Above the carrying arms are a plurality of turning Ordibars or rods 21 each of which is connected to one of the carrying arms whereby mo ment of the bar or rod will efi'ect swinging of the arm and turning of the music sheet. The (onnections between the turning bars and the carrying arms may be of any preferred form and I have illustrated a cheap and simple expedient consisting in forming a loop 22 in the arm which is carried up l. o and aroundv the respective haror rod. The inner ends of the turning bars or rods turned upward and journaled in a supplemental casing or box secured upon the front of the desk above the bracket 1'7, and upon the upturned end or journal each turning rod secured a double cam 2a. The cam 25 is constructed with the o'y'ipos d cam faces 26 which coi'ivergge from the upper end of the cam body to the lower end thereof as shown most clearly in Figs. and 6. Arranged within the desk side by side and alined with the respective cams are plungers 27 each provided at its upper end with a lateral linger which is arranged. to operatively engage the cam :laces oi the respectively adjacent cam. The planners are yieldingly held normally in a raised position by coiled springs 29 disposed between the lower ends of the planners and a rest bar 30 within the desk. Plunger rods 31 depend from the plungers and pass throng; i guiding passages 32 in the rest bar 30 links connecting the piston rods with key levers 34 which are fulcrumed within a ing 35 carried by the bottom of the desk and constructed with notches or s ots in which the key levers play and by which they are guided.

Within the desk, at the top of the same and extending across the upper ends of the plungers. is a prcsser lever 37 iiulcrnmed at one end and having; a link 38 pivoted to and depending from its free end, the lower end of said link being pivoted to a finger lever which is fulcrumed at the desk and projects through a slot O in the end wall of the same, the lever 39 being arranged reversely to the lever 13 as clearly shown in The center of the turning movement of the leaves or sheets is, of course, the line along which they are bound or joined together and the several carrying arms 19 are mounted upon a common pivot but to avoid bulkiness the fulcrums of the turning bars are arranged side by side and the bars at the sides of the center swing eccentrically to the respective carrying arms. To accommodate the varying angular relation of the t-urningbar and the carrying arm. the loop 22 and the clip 20 are slidably engaged with the turning bar, When a single sheet is to be held and turned, the cential turning bar and carrying arm are utilized and two clips 20 and 20 are employed shown in Fig. i. The clip p0 engaged with the upper edge at the corner ot the same and then slid arm and bar irvardly until it stop shoulder or abutment at) on the arm, the edge of the sheet being held by one hand so thatit will be kept flat or straight. i /hen 7L3 clip 2O impinges upon the abutment it), he outer corner of the sheet is engaged in he clip 20" to be held thereby, the operation oi turning the sheet being identical with tiie turning; of the leaves of a book.

li lien the device is to he used the lever :39 depressed which action throws the turning bars or rods 21 to a central position at substantially right angles to the case. The lever is then pressed rearwardly' into the deeper slot 41 and is locked in this position against the shoulder The lever 13 is then depressed thereby pulling downwardly upon the extensions or arms 10 of the clamp inc plates 9 and rocking: said plates upwardly and outwardiy from the desk. The upper outer corners of the book covers or of the outside sheets are then engaged under tle clamping; plates after which the lever 13 released and the s irings 15 and 16 will cause the clamping plates to bear upon and firmly hold the book or the outside leaves.

The lever 39 is then released and the remainin "f leaves or sheets are then engaged in the clips .40 in an obvious manner whereupon the device will be ready for use. hen the first sheet is to be turned the key lever 34: at the left hand end of the series 01" key levers is depressed that the plunger connected thm'ewith will be drawn downwardly and the finger 28 on said plunger will be caused to ride downwardl on the adjacent cam face 26 so that the cam body will be rotated and the turning bar connected therewith swung sharply from the right side ot the desk to the left side thereof. The carrying arm connected with the turning bar will. of course. follow the movement and the first sheet will be turned the spring 29 raising the plunto its normal position and carrying" the finger out of the way of the following cam face 26. It will be understood that the key lever is depressed with a sharp quick blow so that while the lever will be almost instantly released, the momentum acquired by the cam and turning arm will carry them through half: a revolution and bring the mat ing; cam face under the finger. The operation is repeated for each succeeding; leaf by depressing the key levers successively and it will be understood that any desired number of key levers and associate parts may be provided but ordinarily three will be sufli' cient as an eightpage composition will be thereby accon'imodated. If, after a leaf has been turned, the same key lever be de pressed the finger 28 will be caused to ride upon the cam face mating with the face ti o upon which it previously rode so that a reverse movement will be imparted to the turning bar. To efi'ect the reverse movement of all the bars simultaneously at the end of the performance, the lever 39 is de pressed so that a pull is exerted through the link 38 to draw the presser lever-'37 downwardly, and, as this lever 37 is in contact with the upper ends of all the plungers, all the plungers will be forced downwardly and the lateral fingers riding upon the cams 26 will effect the desired turning movement.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, it will be seen that I have provided a simple and compact mechanism whereby the leaves of amusical composition may be readily turned during rendition of the music without interrupting the performance.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. The combination with a music desk having spaced sockets in its front side and in its upper edge, of a cap rail having spaced pins projecting from one side to engage the sockets in the upper edge of the desk or the sockets in the front side thereof. The combination with a music desk, of a plurality of carrying arms pivoted concentrically upon the desk, means on said arms to secure sheets of music, a plurality of turning bars above the carrying arms having journals disposed side by side upon the desk, slidable connections between the turning bars and the respective carrying arms, and means upon the rear of the desk and acting on the journals of the turning bars to swing the same.

3. The combination with a music desk, of a plurality of carrying arms pivoted c0n centrically upon the desk, means on said arms to secure sheets of music, a plurality of turning bars above the carrying arms having journals disposed side by side upon the desk, slidable connections between the turning bars and the respective carrying arms, mating downwardly converging cam faces on the journals, fingers disposed laterally with respect to the journals and arranged to ride on said cam faces, and means for reciprocating the fingers.

4.. The combination with a music desk, oi a plurality of carrying arms pivoted concentrically upon the desk, means on said arms to secure sheets of music, a plurality of turning bars above the carrying arms having journals disposed side by side upon the desk, slidahle connections between the turning bars and the respective carrying arms, mating downwardly converging cam faces on the journals, fingers disposed laterally with respect to the journals and arranged to ride on said cam faces, plunger-s carrying said fingers. springs holding said plungers normally elevated, key levers at the bottom of the desk, and operative connections between the key levers and the respective plunger-s.

5. The communication with a music desk, of a plurality of turning bars mounted on the desk, means for supporting leaves from said bars, means for successively swinging the bars in one direction including a. plu

rality of normally raising vertically mov able plungers, a presser lever extending across and bearing upon the upper ends of all the plungers, a finger lever below the presser lever, and a link connecting the finger lever and the presser lever whereby depression of the finger lever will eflect simultaneous return of all the turning bars to initial position.

THOMAS P. BRIODY. 

